New species of spider revealed, named after Bob Marley

Researchers named the spider for Marley based on the song "High Tide Low Tide," both for its influence on the trip that resulted in the discovery and because its title refers to the spider's ability to survive in and out of water.

A newly-discovered spider adapted itself to marine life, and was named Desis bobmarley in honor of reggae star Bob Marley, researchers reported on Tuesday. Photo by R. Raven/Queensland Museum

Dec. 27 (UPI) -- A new species of water-adapted spiders has been discovered on Australia's coral reefs, with researchers naming it after reggae star Bob Marley for his song "High Tide or Low Tide."

The team of researchers that discovered Desis bobmarleyi sp. n -- Dr. Barbara Baehr, Dr. Robert Raven and Dr. Danilio Harms of the University of Queensland and the University of Hamburg -- named the spider based on it's ability to survive both in and out of water.

The intertidal spiders adapted to become true marine animals, the researchers say, adjusting to life underwater by hiding in barnacle shells, kelp or corals during high tide along the coast of Australia's Queensland state.

They developed air chambers to breathe, using silk, and when the tide recedes they can be found hunting small invertebrates on rocks and plants.

The researchers named the spider for Marley after being inspired by the song during the research trip, which "promotes love and friendship through all struggles of life," the researchers write in the study, published in the journal Evolutionary Systematics.

"It is his music that aided a field trip to Port Douglas in coastal Queensland, Australia, to collect spiders with a highly unique biology."

The spider was first discovered in 2009 and is a "close morphological relative" of spiders found in Samoa and Western Australia, researchers say.